Name U-32 Status In active service Commanders Michael Bornholt Launched 4 December 2003 | Commissioned October 19, 2005 Class and type Type 212A Victories None. | |
 | ||
Builders Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Nordseewerke | ||
U-32 (S182) is the second Type 212A submarine of the German Navy.
It was built by the German Submarine Consortium at the shipyards of Thyssen Nordseewerke of Emden and HDW at Kiel. The ship was christened on December 4, 2003, and the submarine was ceremonially put into service along with its sister ship U-31 by German Defence minister Peter Struck in Eckernförde on October 19, 2005.
U-32 is powered by one diesel engine and an electric motor driven by two fuel cells and features a cavitation-free screw, making it virtually undetectable. U-32 was the first non-nuclear submarine to stay submerged for two weeks.
Korvettenkapitän Michael Bornholt is U-32's commanding officer.
In March 2013, U-32 crossed the Atlantic Ocean in order to join exercises on the east coast of the United States. During the journey the u-boat remained submerged for 18 days, the longest time any German submarine managed to do so, yet.